Thursday, February 11, 2016

Road Trip Back in Time – Swansea Townsite

We all scrambled into Big Boomer bright and early, excited
to take our trip back in time to Swansea Townsite, about 30 miles northeast of
Parker.Located in the middle of
nowhere, Swansea was a thriving copper mining development in the early 20th
century.By 1909, 500 people lived in
the town, which included saloons, a general store, post office, railroad depot,
even a moving picture house!

We stop along the way to take in the pretty vistas, crystal blue canals, and
blooming desert flowers!

Me and Claudia enjoying the flowers!

I've turned into quite an ornithologist! Caught a glimpse of a Phainopepla!

We now reach a sign, “17 miles to Swansea". The
initial road looks paved. Piece of cake—we’ll be there in under an hour, tops. No
way, Jose! The last 7 miles were all gravel roads, with steep inclines and
sharp turns. Yes, this was real “white knuckle” driving. The roads were so
rough, we were bouncing around like a bunch of bobble head dolls! Let’s put it
this way: I now feel qualified to ride a mechanical bull! Once again, Big
Boomer was performing the duty of an ATV!

The Road to "White Knuckle" Driving!

Two hours later, we reach our destination.Thank goodness, they have a port-a-potty!Especially after that ride!

Although most of Swansea Townsite has succumbed to weather erosion and vandalism, there are adobe structures, mine shafts, exposed stone foundations, and remnants of copper, now with a green patina, that tell its colorful history.

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About Me

My name is PoPo-G-G-O, and I'm a Rambling RV Rat. I’ve been RVing full-time these last few years with my human Mom and Dad, our Country Campground Cat, and our Frolicking Full-timing Fish. After planning for retirement for 14 years, my family sold our “sticks and bricks” home with our half acre of property. We sold or donated most of our material possessions. We were blessed to experience an epiphany many years ago—God provides us with the basic necessities for our existence. Everything else is “nice to have” but is not required to experience happiness or contentment. We now live a more minimalist lifestyle. We still have everything we truly need and the few material possessions we truly want. We loaded the motorcycles into our custom-built truck, hooked up our home on wheels, and now travel around this great country. Whether staying somewhere for six months, visiting for just six days, or just stopping over for 6 hours, we experience a new sensational sunrise and a different breath-taking “backyard” view everywhere we go!